Machai

Freedom

Machai was walking alone around the beach, trying to find some animal he could hunt. They had no fresh meat to eat in over a year, but after the snow calmed down he finally could try to hunt for Marana again. Meat would be a nice surprise for her waking up and would put her in a good mood. Hopefully.

It was brutal how different Asthery looked from when they first arrived there. The rough blizzards and snow storms covered everything in ice and snow, the three islands turned into one large ice field with a mountain in the middle, and both forest and city vanished from the map. Patches of tundra grass were the only thing breaking the whiteness, but the weather was still very cold even in the summer, pushing the animals away. It looked beautiful and sad at the same time.

"Ugh, I missed again. Get back here!" Machai shouted at a rabbit, but it was already long gone when he got closer. He hadn't practiced for a long time, and now hunting was much harder.

After two hours with no success, he finally decided to go back to their cavern. He didn't find any meat, but at least he gathered some flowers for Marana to look at... Or eat. Halfway back home, though, he saw a weird shape down in the snow.

Carefully, Machai got closer and looked at it. A strong but very thin dragon was laying down, as white as the snow itself. His majestic wings, as clear as ice, looked too weak to fly. "A victim of the snow..." Machai thought to himself. "Probably died of hunger and cold."

Machai grabbed the arm of the dragon to bury the body, but to his surprise, the dragon moved his face and said: "Help..."

He stumbled and almost fell down with fright, the dragon was so pale and thin Machai was sure he was dead. Slowly, the dragon rolled over and looked at him. His eyes were just like ice, he looked weak and frightened. Machai had to help him.

"Who are you?"

"My name... is... Ka... Karabudak."

"I'm Machai. I'm gonna help you. Wait right here."

Machai got very good at surviving in the middle of the snow. He quickly made a fire to warm them both and found some wild berries for Karabudak to eat.

"I hope you like these...?"

"Sure... Thanks... Thank you."

The dragon promptly ate the berries, but he didn't get close to the fire.

"So... Karabudak, is it? Interesting name... I mean, what are you doing here in this cold place? Please tell me your story."

"Hm... Well... You see... I was locked in the Kodomo Prison."

"What? The prison? Are you serious? When?"

"Oh, I was there for many years... Before any of this... The freezing cold." He looked at the snow.

"No, that's impossible. You see, we went to the Kodomo Prison once, quite some time ago, and there was no one there. I mean, no one alive..." Machai suddenly got worried with that story.

"Who's we?"

"Erm... Me and my wife, Marana."

There was a moment of silence. Karabudak and Machai looked at each other intensely. The cold wind howled in the distance.

"Oh, I wasn't sure if it was you, but it's true... It was you who unlocked the prison, you freed me... I was looking for you for so long."

The dragon was too fast for Machai to react. He barely saw him move, and then his body was already on the ground, immobilized. Karabudak was clearly much stronger than he looked, and Machai wasn't capable of setting himself free. He felt a strong pressure on his neck, and the only thing he could think of was to play dead. So he let the air leave his chest, calmed down and pretended to pass out before it actually happened.

Karabudak inspected Machai carefully to make sure he wasn't awake, so he had to stay calm and make no reaction. Karabudak grabbed a rope and started tying him up, and then he started talking.

"You wanted to know my story, huh? You fool, you have no idea what I've been through. Years in that prison, suffering all kinds of things on the hands of the Vérkert... I lost the count on how many times I thought my life was over. And yet, nothing makes me suffer more than the idea of losing my dear Shinmyra..."

Karabudak was silent for a moment, but kept tying up Machai's legs.

"My sweet Shinmyra... She was imprisoned with me, and it was all my fault... But the worst part is she didn't resist the cold like I do. When they blocked the entrances and left everyone to die... It was too much for her. I tried everything I could to keep her warm, but I couldn't help it..."

"She's still frozen in that cursed place."

The knots in Machai's legs weren't very tight yet. Karabudak stopped and looked away, in the direction of the prison.

"But I can still feel her soul. I think a part of her is still alive in her own pearl, somehow. I'm not losing hope."

Machai openned his eyes, and he could see a stone in front of him. If only he could reach it...

"If something can thaw her out and bring her life back, it's fire magic. Like the magic you used to unblock the prison. I only saw fire magic like that with Phyro, one of the Vérkert leaders, but you can also use it somehow... I didn't know about ancient dragons when I got imprisoned so I don't know much about you, but I watched you doing it."

Machai tried to get rid of the ropes discreetly, but it seemed impossible.

"I've been hunting ancient dragons since then, and I'm gathering ancient magic through their eggs. I'm not sure... Hey!"

Karabudak turned around exactly when Machai grabbed the stone with his strong wings. He hit the dragon's head as hard as he could, and Karabudak fell to the ground.

"I'm so dumb!" Said Machai as he ran away, still holding the stone. "I always forget about our wings, ugh..." He looked back. "He's not dead, is he?" He looked forward. "It doesn't matter, he's not a nice guy." He looked back. "I mean, I would do anything for Marana too, if she was frozen..." He tripped and fell down. "Ugh... Oh..."

Machai stopped and looked at the stone he still held in his wing. It wasn't really a stone, it was a fertility statue, just like the one he gave to Marana years ago, when she created Gaiola. But this one had blood all over it.

The gaoler tried to calm down and ran back home as well as he could. He didn't manage to get rid of the ropes in his legs completely, making him stumble all the time.

He entered the cavern, washed himself and went to their chamber.

Marana acted surprised and calmly listened to his story. She didn't tell him she went outside looking for him, watched him getting captured and almost had to save him, but she was still proud all she had to do was cover his tracks. When Machai finally stopped talking and theorizing about Karabudak, she finally said:

"Well, I think Gaiola has a new goal: we must free these ancient dragons."